Reining in Blogging, Tweeting and Internet Surfing by Jurors

The National Law Review recently published an article about Jurors and Social Media, written by Carolyn M. Wendel of Barnes & Thornburg LLP:

It is estimated that in 2011, 64 percent of U.S. Internet users utilize social networks—Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and the like—on a regular basis, amounting to nearly 148 million people. In addition, with the expansion of the smartphone market to the general populace from more limited business usage, people can access their social networks virtually anytime and anywhere, including the courtroom.  Such access creates a host of problems and recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of mistrials and overturned verdicts as a result of jurors’ use of social networking and other Internet sites.

Jurors sharing too much information.

Until recently, what went on behind the closed doors of the jury room remained largely a secret. For better or worse, the ability of jurors to instantly share thoughts and observations via blogs and social networks has offered a glimpse into the decision making process. While these instances are often used as grounds for an appeal, they account for a very small portion of the cases that are actually overturned.

The Illinois Appellate Court recently upheld an award of $4.75 million to the widow of a blind man killed by a Metra commuter train despite the fact that a juror was blogging about the case throughout the trial.  Eskew v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Ry. Co., 2011 IL App. (1st) 093450.  The defense argued the verdict must be overturned because the juror’s blog entries showed she had discussed the case with her husband, the jurors had discussed the case among themselves prior to deliberations, and, before all the evidence was in, one juror had stated, “All that’s left now is deciding how much.”  The Court, however, noted that the blog entries showed the other jurors had chastised the juror who made the statement, were generally keeping an open mind, and had been offered no outside information that would influence their decision making process. The Court upheld the verdict, concluding, “The blog entries on which the defendants rely do not indicate that premature deliberations resulted in a jury that was biased when it commenced its deliberations or that the jury’s actual deliberations and verdict were affected by any discussions during trial.  In fact, the entries indicate just the opposite.”

Generally, allegations involving jurors’ texts, tweets, or blogs do not necessitate declaring a mistrial or vacating a verdict.  In a few extreme cases—such as where jurors posted pictures of a murder weapon, blogged about fellow jurors by name, or hosted a chat room where people could ask questions about the case—the courts have taken action. Overall, however, relatively few cases have been overturned because of jurors sharing general thoughts or experiences via posts and blogs.

Jurors seeking out impermissible input and information.

Seemingly more prevalent, and responsible for the majority of mistrials and overturned verdicts, is the situation where jurors impermissibly access the Internet to bring outside information into the jury room.  In 2009 a federal judge in Florida was forced to declare a mistrial eight weeks into a drug trial after learning that jurors were using Internet search engines, Wikipedia, and other Internet sites to research issues associated with the case. Other cases show that jurors have conducted Internet searches of defendants, researched sentencing guidelines, and looked up the social networking profiles of alleged victims.  In one extreme case, a juror in England posted key facts from the case and asked her Facebook friends to vote on whether the defendant was guilty or innocent.  More often than not, where jurors have conducted their own research or solicited outside opinions, judges have been forced to declare mistrials or overturn verdicts.

How courts are responding.

Courts across the country continue to struggle with how to curtail jurors’ use of the Internet and social networking sites. Some courts have banned jurors from using cell phones or similar electronic devices in the courtroom and jury room.  Other courts are warning jurors that violations could lead to jurors being held in contempt. At this point, however, the majority of courts addressing the issue are focusing on updating their jury instructions to emphasize the impermissible uses of the Internet and social networking sites.

In 2010, a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States endorsed a set of model jury instructions for district judges aimed at deterring jurors from electronically communicating or researching about their case. The committee issued separate instructions to be given before trial and at the close of the case, specifying that during the course of the trial and deliberations, jurors “may not use any electronic device or media, such as a telephone, cell phone, smartphone, iPhone, Blackberry or computer, the Internet, any Internet service, or any text or instant messaging service; or any Internet chat room, blog, or website such as Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, YouTube or Twitter, to communicate to anyone any information about this case or to conduct any research about this case.”

A 2011 survey of federal and state jury instructions revealed a majority of circuits and states have such “modern” civil jury instructions that address the Internet, social media, or specific social networking sites by name.  See Eric P. Robinson, Jury Instructions for the Modern Age: A 50-State Survey of Jury Instructions on Internet and Social Media, 1 Reynolds Courts & Media Law Journal 307 (2011).  A minority of the circuits and states retain “archaic” instructions that either have no language addressing jurors’ access to media, or only reference newspapers, radio, and television.Only one circuit and 10 states offer an explanation in their civil instructions as to why jurors should refrain from using the Internet and social networking sites during a trial.

As an example, Indiana’s Model Civil Jury Instructions represent one of the most thorough set of instructions. The instructions start out by informing jurors that their decision must be based only on the evidence presented in the courtroom and the judge’s instructions. After listing general activities that are forbidden, the instructions specifically emphasize electronic communication and research:

[Y]ou must not communicate with anyone or post information about the case, or what you are doing in the case, by any means, including telephone, text messages, email, Internet chat rooms, blogs, or social websites, such as Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter.

You also must not Google or otherwise search for any information about the case, or the law that applies to the case, or the people involved in the case, including the parties, witnesses, lawyers, or Judges.

Finally, the instructions offer an extensive explanation of why it is important that jurors not discuss the case with anyone outside of the jury, visit any place discussed in the testimony, or access any media coverage about the case or conduct their own research. The concept of fairness is repeatedly emphasized. “These rules are designed to guarantee a fair trial” and jurors should not conduct independent research because to do so “would not be fair.”  Jurors should not talk with anyone outside the jury because, “Only you have been found to be fair, and only you have promised to be fair – no one else has been so qualified.”

Not many instructions are as thorough in the conduct they prohibit or the rationale behind the rules as the Indiana instructions. However, more and more states will likely move in this direction as there is a growing belief that only if jurors are told specifically what they cannot do and, more importantly, why they cannot do it, will the increasing trend of juror violations be reversed.

© 2012 BARNES & THORNBURG LLP

LinkedIn Password Theft Results in Class Action Lawsuit: Privacy and Security Law Matters

The National Law Review recently published an article by Kevin M. McGinty of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. regarding The Recent Hacking of LinkedIn:

Nearly as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning, the recent theft of 6.5 million LinkedIn user passwords has resulted in the filing of a class action lawsuit in a California federal court.  In her complaint, a LinkedIn premium subscriber asserts claims on behalf of all LinkedIn users for breach of implied and express contractual obligations, negligence and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200.

Although the attack affected the passwords of just over 5% of LinkedIn’s approximately 120 million users, plaintiff purports to assert claims on behalf of all LinkedIn users.  Although plaintiff alleges classwide damages in excess of $5,000,000 (the jurisdictional threshold for federal court jurisdiction over the state law claims advanced in the complaint) it is unclear what damages plaintiff alleges that the class actually sustained by reason of merely losing passwords.  Some commentators have hypothesized that the propensity to use a single password for multiple online accounts could result in losses where non-LinkedIn accounts are accessed using an individual’s LinkedIn password.

Proving that such losses have occurred, however, would require highly individualized showings that would likely preclude adjudicating plaintiff’s claims as a class action.  Even less clear is what conceivable damages were allegedly sustained by LinkedIn users whose passwords were not stolen.  Thus, as with most privacy class actions, damages issues appear to pose the greatest obstacle to the success of the claims against LinkedIn.

©1994-2012 Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names Summit

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Generic Top-Level Domain Names Summit:

World Research Group is proud to announce the Generic Top-Level Domain Names Summit The Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Financial, Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods, and Other Branding Companies Since ICANNs Program, which will be held onSeptember 13, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. This event will discuss the implications and affects of ICANN’s new top level domain program, the risk and opportunities presented by this revolutionary transformation, and discovering what the next steps are for these companies.

Webinar on Key Performance Indicators: Knowing the Numbers That Run Your Law Firm Now Available On-Demand

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Webinar on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) sponsored by The Rainmaker Institute:

Our law firm marketing webinars are great for attorneys who want to learn about proven legal marketing strategies in one-hour doses. But sometimes the timing just isn’t right. Which is why we are now providing one of our most popular webinars – Knowing the Numbers That Run Your Law Firm – in an on-demand format, so you can watch and learn at your convenience, as many times as you wish.

Over the last decade we have helped over 8,000 attorneys market and grow their business. During this time we have identified many of the key characteristics of highly successful law firms.

One of the more consistent ones is that they track specific numbers and key indicators that give them instant insight into how their law firm is performing on a weekly and monthly basis.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the numbers that make your law firm run. By analyzing these critical metrics, partners and owners of law firms can easily determine whether they are on track to achieve their goals or if they need to retool and refocus their marketing and business development efforts.

In this fast paced webinar, you learn:

  • How to easily identify the 12 key metrics your law firm needs to track and measure
  • How to set up a system to identify these numbers
  • The 7 critical systems every law firm must have
  • CPL and CPC: the 2 most important numbers every attorney must know in order to succeed
  • How to avoid “paralysis by analysis” and being overwhelmed by too much data
  • Delegating roles and responsibility to your staff
  • Using software to track your KPIs

If you’re a spreadsheet and data driven individual then you will love this webinar! However, if numbers scare you or you tend to ignore them because you have a hard time making heads or tails of all the different data you see, then this webinar is a “can’t miss” event!

We cut through the clutter and give you clear and easy to understand guidance on which numbers really matter the most, how to track this information, and what to do with it once you have it!

To register online for this on-demand webinar, click on this link: Knowing the Numbers That Run Your Law Firm

A Betrayal Among Friends: Privacy Issues Surrounding Posts on Facebook

Melissa V. Skrocki of Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, P.C. recently had an article regarding Facebook Privacy published in The National Law Review:
Exactly what protections should be granted to individuals who post information on Facebook?  This was the question before the US District Court of NJ at a summary judgment hearing in the case of Deborah Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp., et al., 2012 BL 131926 (D.N.J. May 30, 2012).   The Plaintiff was an employee of Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corporation (“MONOC”) and also served as the Acting President of the local union for Professional Emergency Medical Services Association – New Jersey.   In her union role, she filed multiple complaints against MONOC that she claims initiated MONOC’s retaliatory conduct against her.

The Plaintiff maintained a Facebook account during the term of her employment with MONOC and designated a number of her co-workers as friends on the website.  The Plaintiff stated in her complaint that MONOC “gained access to Ms. Ehling’s Facebook account by having a supervisor(s) summon a MONOC employee, who was also one of Mr. Ehling’s Facebook friends, into an office” and “coerc[ing], strongerarm[ing], and/or threaten[ing] the employee into accessing his Facebook account on the work computer in the supervisor’s presence.” Id. at 2 citing  Am. Compl. 20.   The MONOC supervisor viewed and copied numerous postings by the Plaintiff including one regarding a shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. in which the Plaintiff posted:

An 88 yr old sociopath white supremacist opened fire in the Wash D.C. Holocaust Museum this morning and killed an innocent guard (leaving children).  Other guards opened fire. The 88 yr old was shot. He survived.  I blame the DC paramedics. I want to say 2 things to the DC medics. 1. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? and 2.  This was your opportunity to really make a difference! WTF!!!! And to the other guards…go to target practice.

Id. at 2 citing Certificate of Elizabeth Duffy Ex. C, ECF No. 11.   On June 17, 2009, MONOC sent notice of the Plaintiff’s Facebook post claiming concern for a disregard of patient safety to the New Jersey Board of Nursing and the New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services.  The Plaintiff then brought her suit against MONOC in which, among other claims, she alleged a violation of the New Jersey Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act (“NJ Wiretap Act”) and a common law invasion of privacy, for which MONOC moved for dismissal of each complaint.

The Plaintiff maintains that the Defendant violated the NJ Wiretap Act by the unauthorized accessing and monitoring of the Plaintiff’s electronic communications stored in her Facebook account.   An individual will violate the NJ Wiretap Act if that person: “(1) knowingly accesses without authorization a facility through which an electronic communication service is provided or exceeds an authorization to access that facility, and (2) thereby obtains, alters, or prevents authorized access to a wire or electronic communication while that communication is in electronic storage.” N.J.S.A 2A:156A-27(a).   The NJ courts have determined that the NJ Wiretap Act does not apply where the communication was received by the recipient, stored by such recipient and then retrieved or viewed by another without permission because “the strong expectation of privacy with respect to communication in the course of transmission significantly diminishes once transmission is complete.” White v. White, 344 N.J. Super. 211, 200 (Ch. Div. 2001).

The Court dismissed Plaintiff’s NJ Wiretap Act claim because the Plaintiff failed to allege that the Defendant viewed Plaintiff’s post during transmission.  The Court found that the Plaintiff’s comments were clearly in post-transmission storage when they were accessed by the Defendant and as such, the NJ Wiretap Act does not apply.

The Plaintiff further claimed that the Defendant committed a common law invasion of her privacy by accessing her Facebook page without permission. In order to establish a claim for invasion of privacy under New Jersey law, a plaintiff must be able to prove that: “(1) her solitude, seclusion, or private affairs were intentionally infringed upon, and that (2) this infringement would highly offend a reasonable person.” Ehling at 5 citing Bisbee v. John C. Conover Agency Inc., 186 N.J. Super. 335, 339 (App. Div. 1982).   The Plaintiff maintains that she had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her posts on the Facebook site because she had limited access to her account to those individuals deemed “friends” on the website.  Accordingly, Plaintiff maintains that her comments were not generally available to the public. Conversely, the Defendant disputes that such an expectation of privacy can arise when the Plaintiff made her post available to “dozens, if not hundreds, of people.” Ehling at 6.

The Court considered the emerging privacy issues which surround social networking sites.  It noted that:

On one end of the spectrum, there are cases holding that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy for material posted to an unprotected website that anyone can view. On the other end of the spectrum, there are cases holding that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy for individual, password-protected online communication.

Id. at 5 (emphasis and internal citations omitted).   Despite the clear boundaries on the continuum of online privacy issues, the courts have not come to a clear consensus regarding the expectations of privacy for those communications which fall somewhere in between public websites and password-protected email accounts.  Most courts acknowledge that a communication may still be considered to be private even if it has been disclosed to one or more persons.  Interestingly though, the answer of question as to how many people must know a fact before it is considered public varies greatly among the courts.  As reported by the Ehling Court, in Multimedia Wmaz v. Kuback, the court found that disclosure of information by the plaintiff to sixty people did not render it public. Id. at 6 citingMultimedia Wmaz v. Kuback,  212 Ga. App. 707, 7-0 & n. 1 (Ga. Ct. App. 1994).  Conversely, the Eight Circuit found that the plaintiff did not have an expectation of privacy when she shared certain information with two of her coworkers. Id. at 6 citing Fletcher v. Price Chopper Foods of Trumann, Inc. (8th Cir. 2000).

Given the unsettled nature of this area of law, the Court rejected the Defendant’s motion to dismiss the Plaintiff’s violation of privacy claim and will hear arguments on this point during the trial.

It will be interesting to see where the NJ District Court falls within the privacy continuum but one thing is clear: it is best to follow the advice of Facebook, “Always think before you post. Just like anything else you post on the web or send in an email, information you share on Facebook can be copied or re-shared by anyone who can see it.”

© 2012 Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, P.C.

Generic Top-Level Domain Names Summit

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Generic Top-Level Domain Names Summit:

World Research Group is proud to announce the Generic Top-Level Domain Names Summit The Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Financial, Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods, and Other Branding Companies Since ICANNs Program, which will be held onSeptember 13, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. This event will discuss the implications and affects of ICANN’s new top level domain program, the risk and opportunities presented by this revolutionary transformation, and discovering what the next steps are for these companies.

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Releases Another Report on Social Media Policies

An article by Steve L. Hernández of Barnes & Thornburg LLP recently had an article regarding NLRB’s Social Media Policies in The National Law Review:

On May 30, 2012. Lafe Solomon, the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel (the “AGC”), released a third report on social media cases brought before the Board. This report deals with seven different cases involving social media policies, covering topics such as the use of social media and electronic technologies, confidentiality, privacy, protection of employer information, intellectual property, and contact with the media and government agencies. In the first six policies reviewed, the AGC concluded that at least some of the provisions in the employers’ policies and rules were overbroad and, accordingly, unlawful, under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Importantly, the Board found that the savings clauses in these otherwise unlawful policies did not save the policies. Only the final social media policy reviewed by the AGC was found to be entirely lawful. In finding the final reviewed policy lawful, the AGC pointed to the policies substantial use of examples of allowed and proscribed behavior. Specifically, the AGC stated that “rules that clarify and restrict their scope by including examples of clearly illegal or unprotected conduct, such that they could not reasonably be construed to cover protected activity, are not unlawful.”

© 2012 BARNES & THORNBURG LLP

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

  • You will discover over 65 different marketing techniques that are proven to work in the real world environment of a fast moving law firm. Only practical  techniques will be discussed here. We leave the theory for the classroom.
  • You will know the 5 critical numbers you need to be tracking in your law firm and how to measure your Return On Investment (ROI) for all your marketing efforts.
  • You will understand the core concepts of search engine optimization (SEO) and internet marketing for attorneys and how to create a dominant position on the internet.
  • You will study specific tools to automate your marketing system and “fix your follow up” to increase your conversion rates from prospects to paying clients.
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.
  • You will learn from dozens of real world case studies of how attorneys have gone from a good 6 figure practice to a great “7 figure lifestyle law firm.”
  • You will learn how to focus your money on the most effective marketing strategies based on your specific practice area.
  • You will learn how to better select, train and motivate your partners and staff to do Rainmaking activities
  • You will learn where you can ‘cut the fat’ and reduce your costs by eliminating ineffective marketing strategies
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will have a realistic idea of how much money it will take to effectively market your law firm
  • You will start building a network of other attorneys across the country who are dedicated to building a 7 figure lifestyle law firm
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

  • You will discover over 30 low cost (starting at $20/mo)and no cost marketing strategies to help you stretch your budget
  • You will learn software tools that will help you automate your marketing system
  • You will learn an easy to use system for tracking all your incoming leads
  • You will be introduced to specific tools to help you and your staff convert more prospects into paying clients.
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will see how other solo attorneys have leveraged internet marketing and social media networks to beat much bigger firms
  • You will hear about best practices in legal marketing and gain new insight into what has and has not worked for other solo attorneys all across the country
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.
  • You will learn what the most profitable practice areas are in this economy.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will walk out with a specific, step-by-step, written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that your internal marketing team can implement in the next 30 days.
  • You will learn how to quickly evaluate potential legal marketing strategies to determine if they are a “good fit” for your attorney’s practice areas.
  • You will know how to integrate your offline legal marketing strategies, like referral development and cross selling the firm’s other services,with your online and internet marketing strategies.
  • You will have a simple guide for when it’s more beneficial and cost effective to outsource specific attorney marketing projects versus keeping it in house.
  • You will know the questions to ask when evaluating internet marketing and legal website development companies so you can make wise decisions.
  • You will grasp fundamental search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and understand how to evaluate potential providers of SEO services.
  • You will understand the “metrics of legal marketing”—how to track and measure the results and ROI of your law firm’s marketing campaigns using low cost tools.
  • You will discover a proven system for fixing the follow up of your attorneys and how to start tracking every lead, every prospect, and every referral source and automatically follow up with them frequently and consistently.
  • You will discover over a dozen low cost legal marketing strategies you can launch in 30 days or less.
  • You will have a paint-by-the-numbers approach to developing more referral sources for your law firm.
  • You will understand the basics of how to put together a reasonable law firm marketing budget.
  • You will know how to work better with the Managing Partner and law firm Partners to provide them with the data, the metrics and results they are looking for.

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

  • You will learn how other Of Counsel Attorneys build their book of business.
  • You will understand how to walk the line between promoting your firm and promoting yourself.
  • You will learn low cost strategies to develop a stronger referral base.
  • You will realize how to apply a step-by-step approach to increasing your credibility in the marketplace.
  • You will recognize how to find more clients even without the support of your firm.
  • You will apply several specific strategies designed to improve your visibility.
  • You will leave with a game plan for finding more clients and building a sustainable book of business.

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will learn the importance of building your own book of business now instead of just relying on senior attorneys to build it for you.
  • You will learn low cost techniques to find more clients with your limited time.
  • You will obtain a practical understanding of what it really takes to become a “Rainmaker.”

WHAT MAKES THIS SO DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER LEGAL MARKETING SEMINAR?

1. Specifically Designed for Owners and Managing Partners at Small Law Firms and Solo Practitioners.While Associates, Of Counsel, and Partners at large firms (50+ attorneys) are welcome to attend and will receive benefit from attending, the Rainmaker Retreat is specifically designed to meet the needs, challenges, and financial budgets of solo practitioners and small law firms.

You won’t find any strategies that cost tens of thousands of dollars in this seminar. In fact, many of our strategies have little to no cost and with many of them we will tell you how to trade more of your time instead of spending your money if you’re marketing your practice on a shoe-string budget. Nor will you hear about generic marketing ideas that only work if you have a large staff or a separate marketing department.

2. This is an Advanced Legal Marketing Workshop. We work very hard to make the material easy to understand and simple to apply, but please understand this is an advanced, in-depth, hard-hitting law firm marketing course!

If you are just starting out or have never done legal marketing or business development before you will likely find the volume and depth of our strategies to be a little overwhelming at times.

A common remark we hear from experienced attorneys is that attending the Rainmaker Retreat is like “trying to drink from a fire hydrant” because we will provide you will dozens of time tested legal marketing strategies each day of the workshop.

At the Rainmaker Retreat, you will not hear any generic marketing advice like “just buy more Yellow Page ads” or “try to get more referrals from clients.” The Rainmaker Retreat focuses on in-depth discussions of cutting-edge strategies and revealing secrets of highly successful attorneys used by only an elite group of lawyers.

3. You will be taught How to Track and Measure Every Legal Marketing Effort! You will find a big emphasis on tracking the results of your attorney marketing efforts so if you are a numbers kind of person you will LOVE the Rainmaker Retreat!

There are 3 major areas you need to analyze and every one of your current challenges is directly related to problems in one or more of these 3 areas. We will teach you what the 3 areas are and how to use this tool to diagnose your problems and what “marketing treatment” you need to prescribe.

4. You will learn a Proven Lead Conversion System. The biggest area attorneys overlook in their legal marketing efforts is how to convert more prospects into paying clients. You will learn the 5 numbers you need to track in your law firm.

We will give you the tools and teach you how to use them so you can start tracking: (1) where every incoming lead is coming from, (2) how many of those leads turn into appointments, (3) how many appointments show up, (4) how many of those appointments retain at the initial consult, and (5) how many retain at a later date. We will introduce you to our Rainmaker Follow Up System that can be used to determine your Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Client (CPC).

5. It is a Working Retreat. This means that several times each day you will be given specific marketing tasks to complete with step-by-step instructions. You not only come to listen, learn and discover, but also to practice and apply.

By the end of the Rainmaker Retreat you will:

  • Create a written 90-day Marketing Action Plan (MAP) for your law firm
  • Discover your firm’s Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA)
  • Identify a profile of your Ideal Target Market (ITM)
  • Have written strategies for improving your internet presence and search engine optimization
  • Develop your own plan for leveraging the power of blogging and social media following the Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint
  • Create a letter of introduction to potential Strategic Referral Partners (SRPs)

6. There is a Strong Focus on Return on Investment (ROI)! Everything about this workshop is focused on one goal—helping you achieve the best possible results by finding more and better clients in the least amount of time using the least amount of money possible!

For most attorneys,landing just 1 new client as a result of this workshop will more than pay for your attendance. But that’s not our goal! Our goal is to teach you how to gain dozens of new clients in the next 60-90 days.

Please note, ethically we cannot guarantee those kinds of results, but we work hard to provide you with all of the tools you will need to find more and better clients on a consistent basis. With that kind of Return on Investment, can you afford not to attend?

7. 100% Money Back Guarantee! We are so confident you will benefit from the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied at the end of the first day, just let us know, turn your materials in and we will refund your money.

We guarantee you will come out of these 2 days with a step-by-step Marketing Action Plan (MAP) to make very specific changes to your marketing and how you go about building your legal practice.

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

  • You will discover over 65 different marketing techniques that are proven to work in the real world environment of a fast moving law firm. Only practical  techniques will be discussed here. We leave the theory for the classroom.
  • You will know the 5 critical numbers you need to be tracking in your law firm and how to measure your Return On Investment (ROI) for all your marketing efforts.
  • You will understand the core concepts of search engine optimization (SEO) and internet marketing for attorneys and how to create a dominant position on the internet.
  • You will study specific tools to automate your marketing system and “fix your follow up” to increase your conversion rates from prospects to paying clients.
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.
  • You will learn from dozens of real world case studies of how attorneys have gone from a good 6 figure practice to a great “7 figure lifestyle law firm.”
  • You will learn how to focus your money on the most effective marketing strategies based on your specific practice area.
  • You will learn how to better select, train and motivate your partners and staff to do Rainmaking activities
  • You will learn where you can ‘cut the fat’ and reduce your costs by eliminating ineffective marketing strategies
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will have a realistic idea of how much money it will take to effectively market your law firm
  • You will start building a network of other attorneys across the country who are dedicated to building a 7 figure lifestyle law firm
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

  • You will discover over 30 low cost (starting at $20/mo)and no cost marketing strategies to help you stretch your budget
  • You will learn software tools that will help you automate your marketing system
  • You will learn an easy to use system for tracking all your incoming leads
  • You will be introduced to specific tools to help you and your staff convert more prospects into paying clients.
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will see how other solo attorneys have leveraged internet marketing and social media networks to beat much bigger firms
  • You will hear about best practices in legal marketing and gain new insight into what has and has not worked for other solo attorneys all across the country
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.
  • You will learn what the most profitable practice areas are in this economy.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will walk out with a specific, step-by-step, written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that your internal marketing team can implement in the next 30 days.
  • You will learn how to quickly evaluate potential legal marketing strategies to determine if they are a “good fit” for your attorney’s practice areas.
  • You will know how to integrate your offline legal marketing strategies, like referral development and cross selling the firm’s other services,with your online and internet marketing strategies.
  • You will have a simple guide for when it’s more beneficial and cost effective to outsource specific attorney marketing projects versus keeping it in house.
  • You will know the questions to ask when evaluating internet marketing and legal website development companies so you can make wise decisions.
  • You will grasp fundamental search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and understand how to evaluate potential providers of SEO services.
  • You will understand the “metrics of legal marketing”—how to track and measure the results and ROI of your law firm’s marketing campaigns using low cost tools.
  • You will discover a proven system for fixing the follow up of your attorneys and how to start tracking every lead, every prospect, and every referral source and automatically follow up with them frequently and consistently.
  • You will discover over a dozen low cost legal marketing strategies you can launch in 30 days or less.
  • You will have a paint-by-the-numbers approach to developing more referral sources for your law firm.
  • You will understand the basics of how to put together a reasonable law firm marketing budget.
  • You will know how to work better with the Managing Partner and law firm Partners to provide them with the data, the metrics and results they are looking for.

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

  • You will learn how other Of Counsel Attorneys build their book of business.
  • You will understand how to walk the line between promoting your firm and promoting yourself.
  • You will learn low cost strategies to develop a stronger referral base.
  • You will realize how to apply a step-by-step approach to increasing your credibility in the marketplace.
  • You will recognize how to find more clients even without the support of your firm.
  • You will apply several specific strategies designed to improve your visibility.
  • You will leave with a game plan for finding more clients and building a sustainable book of business.

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will learn the importance of building your own book of business now instead of just relying on senior attorneys to build it for you.
  • You will learn low cost techniques to find more clients with your limited time.
  • You will obtain a practical understanding of what it really takes to become a “Rainmaker.”

WHAT MAKES THIS SO DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER LEGAL MARKETING SEMINAR?

1. Specifically Designed for Owners and Managing Partners at Small Law Firms and Solo Practitioners.While Associates, Of Counsel, and Partners at large firms (50+ attorneys) are welcome to attend and will receive benefit from attending, the Rainmaker Retreat is specifically designed to meet the needs, challenges, and financial budgets of solo practitioners and small law firms.

You won’t find any strategies that cost tens of thousands of dollars in this seminar. In fact, many of our strategies have little to no cost and with many of them we will tell you how to trade more of your time instead of spending your money if you’re marketing your practice on a shoe-string budget. Nor will you hear about generic marketing ideas that only work if you have a large staff or a separate marketing department.

2. This is an Advanced Legal Marketing Workshop. We work very hard to make the material easy to understand and simple to apply, but please understand this is an advanced, in-depth, hard-hitting law firm marketing course!

If you are just starting out or have never done legal marketing or business development before you will likely find the volume and depth of our strategies to be a little overwhelming at times.

A common remark we hear from experienced attorneys is that attending the Rainmaker Retreat is like “trying to drink from a fire hydrant” because we will provide you will dozens of time tested legal marketing strategies each day of the workshop.

At the Rainmaker Retreat, you will not hear any generic marketing advice like “just buy more Yellow Page ads” or “try to get more referrals from clients.” The Rainmaker Retreat focuses on in-depth discussions of cutting-edge strategies and revealing secrets of highly successful attorneys used by only an elite group of lawyers.

3. You will be taught How to Track and Measure Every Legal Marketing Effort! You will find a big emphasis on tracking the results of your attorney marketing efforts so if you are a numbers kind of person you will LOVE the Rainmaker Retreat!

There are 3 major areas you need to analyze and every one of your current challenges is directly related to problems in one or more of these 3 areas. We will teach you what the 3 areas are and how to use this tool to diagnose your problems and what “marketing treatment” you need to prescribe.

4. You will learn a Proven Lead Conversion System. The biggest area attorneys overlook in their legal marketing efforts is how to convert more prospects into paying clients. You will learn the 5 numbers you need to track in your law firm.

We will give you the tools and teach you how to use them so you can start tracking: (1) where every incoming lead is coming from, (2) how many of those leads turn into appointments, (3) how many appointments show up, (4) how many of those appointments retain at the initial consult, and (5) how many retain at a later date. We will introduce you to our Rainmaker Follow Up System that can be used to determine your Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Client (CPC).

5. It is a Working Retreat. This means that several times each day you will be given specific marketing tasks to complete with step-by-step instructions. You not only come to listen, learn and discover, but also to practice and apply.

By the end of the Rainmaker Retreat you will:

  • Create a written 90-day Marketing Action Plan (MAP) for your law firm
  • Discover your firm’s Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA)
  • Identify a profile of your Ideal Target Market (ITM)
  • Have written strategies for improving your internet presence and search engine optimization
  • Develop your own plan for leveraging the power of blogging and social media following the Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint
  • Create a letter of introduction to potential Strategic Referral Partners (SRPs)

6. There is a Strong Focus on Return on Investment (ROI)! Everything about this workshop is focused on one goal—helping you achieve the best possible results by finding more and better clients in the least amount of time using the least amount of money possible!

For most attorneys,landing just 1 new client as a result of this workshop will more than pay for your attendance. But that’s not our goal! Our goal is to teach you how to gain dozens of new clients in the next 60-90 days.

Please note, ethically we cannot guarantee those kinds of results, but we work hard to provide you with all of the tools you will need to find more and better clients on a consistent basis. With that kind of Return on Investment, can you afford not to attend?

7. 100% Money Back Guarantee! We are so confident you will benefit from the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied at the end of the first day, just let us know, turn your materials in and we will refund your money.

We guarantee you will come out of these 2 days with a step-by-step Marketing Action Plan (MAP) to make very specific changes to your marketing and how you go about building your legal practice.